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Friday, January 23rd, 2026 10:13 pm
The White House and Trump attributed the January 2026 bruising to the president hitting his hand on a table, as well as a daily aspirin regimen.
How many immigrants in the US illegally live in Minnesota vs. Florida or Texas? Breaking down the da
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 09:14 pm
Census data does not lie.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 08:00 pm
Learn how anticipatory emotions make potential losses feel stronger than gains, shaping risk aversion and decision-making.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 07:24 pm
Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1915. "Main entrance, Museum of Fine Arts." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 04:19 pm
In 1940, Robert Edsall, Sr. planted citrus trees in Florida’s Indian River growing region, using the area’s rich soil and sunshine to grow fruit with a uniquely sweet, complex flavor. His commitment to citrus farming continues today at Sun Harvest Citrus. The farm does not import or mass-produce to fill its groves, and its team of farmers perform taste tests throughout the growing season.
The Sun Harvest Citrus retail store opened in Fort Myers in 1990 as a way to bring the farm experience to residents and visitors alike. The store is a bustling homage to all kinds of citrus, with fresh-squeezed orange juice, marmalades and jams, and even citrus-flavored coffee. (Key lime pie for breakfast, anyone?)
Guests can watch orange juice be made onsite, sample fresh-picked fruit, and indulge in all kinds of delicious citrusy treats, including an especially popular orange vanilla swirl soft-serve. True to its Florida roots, the shop’s mascot is none other than a life-sized alligator named Sunny, who greets visitors with a toothy grin (and is always down for a selfie).
If you can’t make it to Fort Myers, have no fear: Sun Harvest Citrus ships internationally, so you can get a taste of Florida sunshine wherever you are.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 04:00 pm
Come on a day with good visibility and bring binoculars. Stay past sunset to see the city lights come alive. See if you can identify Newark and Jersey City in addition to Manhattan. And bring a flashlight if you're planning on staying after dark: It's about a 20-minute walk back to the parking lot.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 08:26 pm
A U.K. court reportedly heard a recording of the U.S. president's youngest son telling an emergency operator he witnessed the attack.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 02:00 pm
For most Americans, the name Charles Cornwallis immediately calls to mind his humiliating defeat at the hands of American and French armies at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. However, after the defeat at Yorktown, Cornwallis went on to have a long and illustrious career.
After returning to Great Britain, Cornwallis still had the confidence of King George III, who sent him as ambassador to the court of King Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia in 1785. The following year, he was knighted and was appointed Governor-General of India, where he became responsible for setting up British administrative services across the subcontinent that laid the groundwork for the British Raj, including the Cornwallis Code, a civil and criminal code enacted in India in 1793. Cornwallis had been made a Marquess (thus earning him the title "Lord") in 1792, and after his code was established, he returned to Britain as a celebrated administrator.
After a stint as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1798 to 1801, his political benefactor William Pitt the Younger, prime minister of Great Britain, sent Cornwallis back to India in 1805 as Governor-General to get a better handle on the political situation there after a tumultuous term by Arthur Wellesley (the Duke of Wellington's older brother). Shortly after his return, Cornwallis developed a fever and died in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. His tomb was built outside the city on a bluff overlooking the Ganges River, where was buried and remains to this day. Today, his tomb is protected and administered by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 12:00 pm
In 1816, the State of Indiana was formed and initially took a progressive, enlightened stance by abolishing slavery in 1820. By 1830, however, times had changed, and Indiana required Black settlers to pay a $500 fee to live in the state. In 1843, Indiana banned interracial marriages. Then, in 1851, the Indiana state constitution prohibited any Negro or Mulatto from settling in Indiana, with fines of up to $500 imposed on settlers or any white person who supported them. Yet, despite these inequalities and hardships, the small free Black settlement of Weaver was formed and flourished from the 1840s into the 1880s.
A drive along a flat farmland road reveals that all that remains of the Weaver community are Hill’s African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Chapel—built in 1842 and rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire in 1957, a cemetery, and the Masonic Order of the Eastern Star (OES) Home. Not much remains of a community that once encompassed 3,600 acres and had 736 residents in 1870. At its peak, Weaver had a grocery store, a blacksmith, a post office, a school, two churches, a racetrack and a Masonic home for the elderly or poor. The residents were primarily free Blacks, though runaway slaves also found their way to Weaver and beyond via the Underground Railroad. Weaver became an important link in the Underground Railroad due to several factors, including the AME Church circuit, Black social organizations such as the Masons and OES, and the support of nearby abolitionists.
In the 1880s, a natural gas boom struck Grant County, and many of Weaver’s residents moved to nearby towns, including Marion and Gas City, in search of better-paying jobs. As a result, Weaver went into decline with about 100 black families remaining in the 1920s. However, the strength of the Weaver community is still felt in Marion today, where there are two AME churches and a Prince Hall Masonic Lodge named after a formerly enslaved man who escaped to freedom.
The Weaver Cemetery contains the graves of more than a dozen Black Civil War veterans among its 224 interments. The cemetery was a gift from Weaver resident Lewis Wallace in 1866.
Please note that there is no parking at the chapel, as it is posted as private property with no trespassing. The Weaver Cemetery does have space to pull off the road while visiting. The Masonic grounds also have a small driveway off the road, but the gate is locked and should not be entered.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 04:00 pm
The object dubbed Earth's "second moon" is actually a quasi-satellite that's accompanied the planet since 1957 — not a true moon.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 10:00 am
Unusual artistic structures built over the main Daniel Arap Moi Avenue. Impressive for its size and was originally built out of wood, but were replaced with an aluminum version. They were first erected in 1952 to commemorate a visit by Queen Elizabeth II of the British royal family. Over time, they have become a popular symbol of the city and an attraction for visitors.
They have been repaired and repainted several times over the years, most recently in 2017.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 01:57 pm
Somebody’s been talking about Greenland again, and we’re getting another flurry of articles about how Greenland’s apparent size on maps may be to blame for the obsession. Last year it was suggested that Trump wanted… More
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 02:00 pm
Google's AI tools had a digital hand in creating the photos of the former Spice Girl doing the splits.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 07:37 am
A rare fossil discovery in Ethiopia has pushed the known range of Paranthropus hundreds of miles farther north than ever before. The 2.6-million-year-old jaw suggests this ancient relative of humans was surprisingly adaptable, not a narrow specialist as once believed. Instead of being outmatched by early humans, Paranthropus appears to have been just as widespread and resilient. The find forces scientists to rethink how early human relatives lived—and competed.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 01:28 pm
The rumor spread following a Wall Street Journal report about ICE's actions in Minneapolis.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 12:00 pm
While speaking to a crowd at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump asserted he had "settled" more than 8 wars.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 11:00 am
In January 2026, the former first lady encouraged people to be more intentional about supporting designers of color.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 10:11 am
The first time I went to a wedding in the USA, I was surprised and amused to see that, after cutting the cake in the traditional fashion, the bride and groom then proceeded to pick up a piece of cake each and simultaneously feed the pieces to one another. This playfully developed into a slightly messy affair as the bride and groom smushed cake onto the area immediately around the mouth of their new spouse, while the attending guests clapped and cheered.
I thought this was an original and amusing piece of byplay that the bride and groom had presumably discussed as an idea beforehand, being somewhat playful and creative personalities.
Later in the evening, as events progressed to dancing, I was even more amused when the DJ announced a playing of The Hokey Pokey, that standard novelty dance song much loved by kids and traditionally used at kids' parties. Well, I thought, that's a truly bizarre choice of song for a wedding reception, but hey, I guess the happy couple are fans of it or something. There proceeded a mass dancing of the Hokey Pokey by the wedding guests, and much fun was had by all.
I went back to my hotel thinking that was certainly fun, but the most unusual wedding reception I'd ever been to. It was nice to see the bride and groom take so much creative control over the events of the evening, initiating unusual things to give their wedding a unique and defining character that matched their personalities. And then for years I thought nothing more of it.
Some years later, I had occasion to attend another wedding in the USA.
Things proceeded beautifully until the cutting of the cake. This went as expected, but then I was stunned when the bride and groom picked up pieces of cake and simultaneously smushed them into each others' mouths, making a small mess of their faces in the process. Everyone else was cheering, while I was thinking, "Holy cow... this is the second time this has happened at a wedding I've been to! What are the odds of that?!" I quickly came to the conclusion that this theatrical piece of byplay might actually be some sort of wedding tradition in the USA.
The evening progressed and much fun was being had by all. The wedding had a 50s rock'n'roll theme, and various appropriate songs of the era had guests up and dancing. And then the DJ announced that it was time for The Hokey Pokey. My jaw almost hit the floor. Here was a second American wedding tradition that I'd had no inkling of until that second. The Hokey Pokey would be seen as an extremely unusual song choice at weddings in Australia, yet here I was experiencing it at two American weddings out of two.
This was a memorable lesson in cultural differences, even between two cultures as similar as Australia and the USA. Despite knowing many of the distinctive things that make these cultures unique and different, I'd tacitly assumed - having no prior evidence to the contrary - that weddings in one country were pretty much the same as weddings in the other. It's only when you attend a wedding in a different culture that you become intimately aware of the minor nuances and that make it distinctive from your expectations.
The Hokey Pokey? At weddings? Wow.
Of course, Australians can't talk. I've been to many weddings here where everyone eagerly rushes on to the dance floor when the DJ starts spinning up Tina Turner's Nutbush City Limits, to form that distinctively bizarre dance known as The Nutbush.
Every tradition is weird when looked at from outside.
2026-01-23 Rerun commentary: I just did a search for American wedding traditions and discovered that it's not unusual for the food service at a wedding reception to be a self-serve buffet style. That would be considered really weird here in Australia. I've never been to or heard of a wedding where it wasn't a proper sit-down full service meal. I'm imagining a wedding reception and if the guests were informed that it was a buffet meal there would just be confusion and people looking at each other blankly and asking, "What did they say??"
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 08:00 am
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 05:20 am
Learn more about the oldest rock art on record, a stencil of a human hand in Indonesia, which reveals important insights into the movement of humans into Australia.